I do not own Star Vs. The Forces of Evil or Castlevania


While in Hekapoo's dimension, Marco encountered all sorts of bizarre and fantastical creatures. One notable monster was the mandragora. Technically, it is a plant with roots that resemble a human. When uprooted, it will unleash a high pitched scream. It is said that anyone who heard the cry would be driven insane and die. It was a little overhyped, as Marco had heard it and survived with his both life and sanity intact. However, it had been been one of the most painful things he ever experienced, and it had left him partially deaf in his right ear.

At current, Star was giving the mandragora a run for its money in the screaming department. Various glass objects cracked and shattered from the noise. Marco cupped his hands over his ears in an attempt to ensure his hearing didn't get any worse than it already was. Star collapsed on her bed as several liters of tears streamed down her face. Pony Head floated nearby, wailing almost as loudly as Star.

It seemed that their favorite dance club, the Bounce Lounge, was closing. Marco just stood their with an annoyed expression that didn't change even when Star moved over to him and started crying into his chest. In his opinion, they were massively overreacting. Marco barely even remembered the Bounce Lounge. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that he read through his diary upon coming back from Hekapoo's dimension, he probably would have had to ask Star what the heck the Bounce Lounge was. The only thing he really remembered about the place was Pony Head trying to kill him there. In other words, he didn't have any fond memories of the place.

"Hey, let's not get ahead of ourselves. It's probably not even closing." Marco said, patting their backs reassuringly, "I mean, since when has Pony Head been right about anything?"

"Oh, yeah." Star said, removing her face from Marco's hoodie. He cringed as he noticed that she had gotten snot on it. He quickly pulled a tissue out of his pocket and wiped it off.

"We'll go over and check it-" Marco was interrupted by a swirling red portal suddenly appearing, one which Marco immediately recognised. Sure enough, Hekapoo poked through the portal and grabbed Marco's hoodie.

"I need to borrow him." She said. Before Marco could say anything, he was yanked through the portal which closed behind him.

Marco tumbled out of the portal onto the floor. He picked himself up a scanned his surroundings. He wasn't in Hekapoo's forge, nor any other location that he was familiar with. The room was slightly larger than his bedroom. A couch sat up against the wall with a coffee table placed in front of it, and a wardrobe was located on the wall opposite to it.

"Glad you were free. I need you help." Hekapoo said. She walked over to the wardrobe and opened it.

"Actually, I was kind of in the middle of something." Marco replied, annoyance clear in his voice. Hekapoo didn't respond as she looked through the wardrobe, it was clear she didn't care that she had interrupted him. Marco sighed, "Where are we anyway?"

"My place on Mewni." Hekapoo answered, "This is where I usually take people. I got it after I forgot I had a guy at the forge and kinda left him there for several centuries."

"Uhh." Marco wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. Hekapoo pulled a black tuxedo out of the wardrobe and handed it to Marco.

"Here, put this on." She instructed.

"Why?" Marco asked, reluctantly taking the outfit. He didn't care for suits.

"We're going to a ball." Hekapoo responded.

"Why?" Marco asked again, more confused than ever.

"I got a call from Arikado, which almost never happens by the way. According to him, someone's going attack the Black Sun Ball." Hekapoo explained, "And, he has reason to believe it's going to be one of Dracula's old followers."

"Wait, I thought all of Drac's minions were killed, or trapped in the Castle?" Marco asked.

"Nope, a bunch of them escaped the Demon Castle War. Several of them rallied behind Graham Jones, but now that he's dead they're all off doing their own things. Now put on the suit. You need to look presentable for the ball. Unless you'd rather go as Princess Marco." Hekapoo teased.

"Oh, really? Sure." Marco thrusted the tux back at Hekapoo, her teasing completely going over his head. He really didn't like wearing suits, also it had been several years since he had been able to pull off a dress. Hekapoo facepalmed.

"No, I didn't mean that as serious option- Just put the suit on." She said, pushing it back towards him. Marco grumbled to himself.

He stood there awkwardly, eyes flicking between Hekapoo and the suit. After a few more moments of him not doing anything, Hekapoo spoke again, "Well, what are waiting for?"

"Can you leave?" Marco asked.

Hekapoo rolled her eyes and exited the room. Marco turned his attention back to the truly horrendous piece of formal wear. Reluctantly, he changed outfits. Once he was finally in the hell suit he followed Hekapoo out.

"Well H-Poo, how do I look?" Marco asked. Hekapoo stared at him for moment. For as much as Marco hated suits, he looked quite good in them.

"Almost passable." Hekapoo responded with a smirk, "Now come on, little boy. We've got a ball to go to."

"Really, we're back to 'little boy'?" Marco asked, indignantly.

"Well I can't exactly call you 'muscles' anymore." Hekapoo said. She reached out and squeezed his arm to prove her point. Marco quickly yanked his arm away, his face growing red.

"I-I'm working on that." Marco sputtered. Unfortunately, even under his new work out routine, a few weeks wasn't long enough to make a noticeable difference.

"Let me know when you have biceps the size of my head." Hekapoo said. With that she cut open a portal with her scissors and stepped through it, putting an end to conversation. Marco lightly poked himself in the gut -he'd managed to get rid of his tummy fat at the very least- and followed Hekapoo through the portal.

-000-

Marco hadn't been to too many balls in his time. The Blood Moon Ball was the only one, and that was a demon ball, so it was probably a bit different from most. So, Marco just planned on sticking close to Hekapoo, or standing quietly in the corner. The last thing he needed was some noble challenging him to a duel because he'd accidentally insulted them or something.

So, Marco and Hekapoo stood off to the side of the ballroom, watching the rest of the guests. Marco wasn't even sure what he was suppose to be watching for. Hekapoo only told him to keep an eye out for suspicious individuals, but there wasn't anyone here who really fit that description. There were no demons or monsters here, and racist though it may sound, those two groups made up most of Dracula's supporters. A vampire was the next likeliest candidate, but they were kind of hard to identify. You typically didn't realise someone was a vampire until you could see their fangs, and by that point it was usually too late.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Marco asked Hekapoo.

"Arikado didn't say." She replied, not taking her eyes off of the crowd.

"Speaking of, when is Arikado gonna show up?" Marco asked. Once he arrived, they might actually make some progress in their search.

"He isn't." Hekapoo said. A frown formed on her face as she spoke, "He never shows up unless it's super important. Heck, he never even talks to us unless someone's gonna die and he can't stop it himself. Right now, he's too busy hunting down the remains of Graham's cult to deal with this."

"So we're on our own?" Marco asked, "No backup and no idea what the threat is?"

"Pretty much." Hekapoo replied. Marco turned his attention back to rest of the room. Anyone could be Dracula's follower, or it could be none of them. They didn't even know if the attack was coming from inside the ballroom or outside of it. So all this crowd watching could be completely pointless.

"I still have no idea what I'm looking for." Marco said.

"Just keep an eye out for anything suspicious." Hekapoo said, her already short patience running thin. She started to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Marco asked.

"I'm gonna look around, make sure nobody planted bombs or something." Hekapoo said as she headed off.

Once she was gone, Marco slowly made his way to the corner of the room. Just keep an eye out for anything suspicious. How was he even suppose to know what was suspicious? He was in another dimension, he had no idea what was normal here. As if to drive that point home, a pigeon with human-like legs and a fancy hat walked past Marco. Maybe he'd get lucky, and the attack would just be a giant monster bursting in and not something he actually has to watch out for.

After reaching the corner, Marco leaned against the wall and watched the rest of guests. He'd always assumed balls had dancing, but right now everyone was just standing around and talking. Maybe the dancing came later in the evening. Regardless, Marco still didn't see anything that looked suspicious. Time seemed to slow to a crawl, and Marco stifled a yawn.

"Hello there." A voice said. Marco almost jumped, how did he not notice someone approach him? He was standing in the corner for crying out loud. Turning his attention to the voice, he saw a tall man wearing a fancy purple jacket standing in front of him. He was far taller than Marco, easily over six feet. His hair was silver and came down past his shoulders.

"Did I startle you? I apologize." The man said, as he smiled warmly at Marco. He extended a hand, "My name is Lord Blackmore."

"Marco." He replied, taking the hand and shaking.

"A pleasure to meet you." Blackmore said, his smile growing larger, "Tell me, are you here with anyone?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm here with Hekapoo." Marco answered.

"Ah yes, Lady Hekapoo of the High Commission." Blackmore said, "I thought I saw you talking with her earlier."

Marco couldn't think of anything else to add to the conversation, so he didn't say anything. The two of them just stood in awkward silence. Well, awkward for Marco, Blackmore didn't seem to be affected by it. He continued to stare at Marco, making the boy slightly uncomfortable. After a minute, Blackmore spoke.

"I must be going now." He said, finally looking away from Marco, "The first dance will starting shortly. You should find Lady Hekapoo, you two wouldn't want to miss it."

Blackmore walked away, vanishing amongst the crowd as soon as Marco took his eyes off him. Music began to play, and people paired off and started dancing. Marco's boredom returned as he watched. He wasn't sure how much longer he could stand to wait. On cue, a red portal opened directly behind Marco, and since he had been leaning against the wall, he flew backwards through it.

Blackmore watched from a distance as the portal closed. A wicked smile flashed across his face. He turned his attention the dancers.

"And the game begins." Blackmore said.

-000-

The Black Sun Ball was an old event, dating back to the days of Leona Butterfly. Originally, it was a festival related to a solar eclipse, but it somehow wound up becoming an annual event. Over the decades, it went from being a large festival enjoyed by everyone, to a ball attended only by nobility. The ball was held at an ancient temple of the sun, carefully maintained over the centuries despite only being used once a year.

Hekapoo walk down a hallway, having just left the ballroom. She kept an eye out for any sign of trouble. So far, she hadn't found anything. If Arikado was wrong and nothing happened she was going to angry beyond all reason at him. He hadn't even bothered to tell her why he thought someone was going to attack the ball.

He never told her or the rest of the High Commission anything. He didn't tell them about Graham, he didn't tell them that Dracula would reincarnate, he didn't tell them that a solar eclipse could open a portal to the Castle, and he didn't tell them about Marco. Okay, Hekapoo hadn't told the rest of the High Commission about Marco either, but she at least had a reason. They'd crystalise him on the spot if they learned that he was Dracula's reincarnation, she wouldn't even get a chance to explain the situation. Even if she did get a chance to explain that he wasn't technically Dracula, they would probably still crystalise him. They were all terrified of Dracula and for good reason. Marco was a potential path to the Dark Lord's return, and anything that could potentially lead to His return would be stopped immediately. Hell, when Hekapoo found out that Marco was Dracula's reincarnation she-

Hekapoo shook her head as if she was physically trying to derail her train of thought. She didn't like to think about how she reacted to the truth about Marco. If Arikado hadn't been around, things could have gone very differently. She took a deep breath to calm herself, and focused on the task at hand.

Once it was clear that there was nothing evil happening in the hallway, Hekapoo cut open a portal to another section of the temple. She stepped through it into an empty room. As she searched it, Hekapoo tried to keep her mind from wandering back Marco and his relation to Dracula. She needed to stay focused. Arikado was almost never wrong about this sort of thing, and she need to keep her guard up for the attack on the ball. It was definitely going to be dangerous, that's why she brought Marco as backup. Well, that was one reason, she also wanted to make sure he was doing okay.

And she was thinking about him again. Dammit!

Hekapoo angrily cut open another portal, and entered it. She found herself in another empty room. After a quick search, she opened yet another portal. Hekapoo did this over and over again, portaling from room to room, growing more and more annoyed as she failed to find anything, and as her thoughts kept returning to Marco.

By this point, Hekapoo wasn't really paying attention to her surroundings. After storming through another portal, she immediately ran into someone. She took a step back and saw the person she just bumped into floating off in the opposite direction.

Now, most people would be rather freaked out to see someone float away like a balloon. But Hekapoo has seen this sort of thing before, and if this was what she thought it was, then it meant that the attack had already started. The person, a maid by the looks of it, was currently facing away from Hekapoo, and was also upside down. Hekapoo turned her around and was greeted by a pair of black soulless eyes.

"Ah, crap baskets." Hekapoo said. She quickly cut open another portal. Marco tumbled out of it and managed to avoid falling on his ass this time.

"We have a problem." Hekapoo said. She directed his attention to the balloon-like maid.

"Um, is she okay?" Marco asked. He lightly poked the maid and recoiled when she floated away from the force of the poke.

"No, she had her soul sucked out." Hekapoo said grimly. Marco quickly stepped away from the maid, feeling very uncomfortable standing next to it. Hekapoo continued, "Whoever's going to attack the ball is already here. Did you see anything weird, anything at all?"

"Well, I did see a pigeon with people legs, and a lady with a giant spider bite." Marco replied.

"No, not earth weird, Mewni weird." Hekapoo said.

"I don't know what counts as 'Mewni weird'." Marco said, making air quotes, "I mean, there was the Blackmore guy. He was kind of weird, kind of creepy too."

"Wait, did you say Blackmore?" Hekapoo asked.

"Uh, yes." Marco said.

"Did he have silver hair?" Hekapoo asked.

"Yeah?" Marco said, his confusion growing.

"Was he tall and wore a stylish purple coat?" Hekapoo asked.

"Yes. Do you know him?" Marco asked.

"Maybe." Hekapoo said, rubbing her chin in thought, "Did he strike a bunch of over the top poses?"

"Um, no." Marco said.

"It might not be the same Blackmore then." Hekapoo said.

"Okay, who the heck is Blackmore!?" Marco asked, confused and annoyed.

"A powerful shadow mage, and high ranking member of Dracula's army." Hekapoo explained, "He steals people's souls and sustains himself on them."

"I think it's probably the same Blackmore then." Marco said, gesturing to the soulless maid.

"I don't know, I've never once seen him not posing dramatically." Hekapoo said.

They were interrupted by loud screams in the distance.

"What was that!?" Marco asked.

"We need to get to the ballroom." Hekapoo said.

She separated her scissors into two daggers and cut open a portal, then ran through it. Marco took off his tuxedo jacket, and followed her. They emerged in the ballroom, and took up their fighting stances. However, the room was completely empty.

"Where is everybody?" Marco asked, his trepidation growing. He felt a tug on his sleeve and turned to see Hekapoo staring at the ceiling.

Marco followed her gaze. Collected on the ceiling were the guests of the ball. All of them soulless and floating. The doors to the ballroom flew open and Marco and Hekapoo spun around to see Blackmore stride confidently into the room. He stopped and bowed in dramatic fashion.

"Lady Hekapoo!" He said, "It is a blessing to see you again! How long it has been since we last met."

Blackmore stood up from the bow. He then clutched a hand to his chest and gestured the other towards Marco.

"And Marco Diaz!" Blackmore continued, "We meet again. Anyone worthy of Hekapoo's company is sure to be a powerful combatant."

"You said he does this often?" Marco asked Hekapoo, ignoring Blackmore.

"The posing? Yes." She responded.

"I'm afraid you are too late!" Blackmore yelled, as he threw his arms out to his sides, not caring that his audience wasn't paying much attention, "I have already stolen the shadows of everyone at the ball. And now, I have become to powerful for you to stop!"

"Oh, for the love of- Shut UP!" Hekapoo yelled, "I didn't come here to listen your speeches."

"Then you still wish to fight me?" Blackmore said, arching an eyebrow, "Even though you will not be able to win?"

"I wouldn't be so cocky." Marco said, "It'll only make it more humiliating when you lose."

Blackmore stared at Marco before breaking into a fit of laughter. As he laughed his shadow stretched and grew until it covered the wall behind him. Its shape changed into the shadow of a great wolf-like beast. It began to peel itself off the wall, until a massive shadow monster stood behind Blackmore.

"Very well then. I shall add your shadows to my collection!" Blackmore shouted, striking another pose.

Marco and Hekapoo charged towards him, while Blackmore just folded his arms confidently. His shadow opened its mouth and spat large globs of darkness at them. The globs exploded into pillars of shadow when they collided with the ground. Marco dodged backwards to avoid the projectiles, while Hekapoo merely sped past them.

As she got closer, the shadow lunged forward, swiping a clawed hand at her. Hekapoo jumped over the attack, and came down on its arm, stabbing her scissors into it. The shadow recoiled from the attack, and Hekapoo backflipped away from the monster. After putting some distance between her and the beast, she shot a blast of fire at the shadow. The monster ineffectually raised its arms to try and shield itself.

Marco dashed forward, his sights set on Blackmore rather than the shadow. He jumped towards Blackmore and his fist shot towards the mage's face. It didn't land however, as Blackmore caught the punch. Marco immediately withdrew his arm and took a step back. He tried to roundhouse kick Blackmore, but the mage bent over backwards and under the blow. Blackmore snapped back into a standing position smiling smugly at Marco.

Marco lunged forwards, intent on wiping that smile off his face. But the shadow reached down and grabbed Marco before he could reach Blackmore. It squeezed, and Marco was crushed in the monster's grip. Snaps and cracks were heard as some of his bones broke. The shadow threw Marco with all its might. Marco flew across the room, creating a sonic boom, and slammed into the wall at the opposite end of the room. He fell to the floor along with pieces of stone from the now-crumbling wall. He tried to rise to his feet, only to collapse back to the ground and cough up blood.

A portal opened in the air above the shadow, and Hekapoo fell out of it, engulfed in flames. She collided with the shadow and created an enormous burst of fire. Hekapoo landed on the ground and jumped to the side as a glob of darkness impacted next to her. She continued to dodge around the battlefield, avoiding pillars of darkness that sprouted from where the globs landed. The shadow lowered itself to the ground and fired a black laser from its mouth. Hekapoo jumped over the laser, but while she was in the air the shadow slashed at her. Unable to change direction midair, Hekapoo was hit dead-on. She smashed into the ground, creating a small crater. The shadow opened its mouth to fire another dark laser at Hekapoo as she picked herself up.

Marco ran to Hekapoo's side, and called forth the soul of a Final Guard. Using the magic of the spirit, Marco created a force field in front of himself and Hekapoo. The laser collided with shield, and was stopped. Marco dropped the shield and collapsed in exhaustion. As soon as shield was down, Hekapoo unleashed another torrent of flames into the shadow.

"Marco!" Hekapoo shouted, concerned. She picked him up off the ground, "Are you okay?"

"Who me? I'm great." Marco said, immediately coughing up blood as soon as he finished speaking.

'So, she was right. You do possess the Power of Dominance.' Blackmore thought, staring at Marco. Chuckling, Blackmore placed a hand on his face and tilted his head back, then spoke aloud, "Well then! This has just become far more entertaining!"

The shadow lunged forward to try and bring its claw down on Marco and Hekapoo. Keeping hold of Marco, Hekapoo dodged to the side as the claw came crashing down. Hekapoo created a clone, handed off Marco to her copy, and turned back to engage Blackmore again. The clone carried Marco to a wall a safe distance away from the battle and leaned him against it. Marco called upon another soul, and his wounds slowly began to heal themselves. Unfortunately, he couldn't heal unless he stayed still.

Hekapoo slashed at the shadow with her daggers, which were now on fire. Now that Marco was safe, she was soon joined by her clone. Hekapoo created a dozen more clones and the group charged Blackmore. Before they reached him, the shadow slammed its fist into ground creating a massive shockwave of darkness. The shockwave knocked Hekapoo back, and snuffed out her clones. Hekapoo hit the ground hard, and before she could recover, the shadow grabbed her. It opened its mouth and began to inhale. Air rushed past Hekapoo into the beast's mouth, and she began to scream in pain as she felt her soul being forced from her body. Darkness swam across her vision and her mind began to dull, she was faintly aware of Blackmore cackling like madman as consciousness left her.

A bolt of lightning arced through the air and blasted the shadow in the face. The shadow dropped Hekapoo as more bolts struck it. Hekapoo landed in a heap, groaning softly. Blackmore looked for the source of the lightning and saw Marco slumped against a wall, his hand outstretched and electricity crackling between his fingers. Marco glared at Blackmore, eyes full of hatred and murderous intent. He had rested long enough, Marco decided. He charged towards the mage, trying to ignore the pain that every step brought.

As Marco got closer the shadow spat more globs of darkness at him. Marco dashed around them, closing the distance between him and Blackmore. The shadow lunged forward, slashing at Marco with its claws. Marco leaped over the attack, and the beast shot its other hand towards him while he was in the air. However, Marco could change direction midair, and shot downwards towards Blackmore like a meteor. Marco's foot slammed into Blackmore's chest, and he kicked off sending them both flying backwards. Marco landed gracefully on his feet, while Blackmore rolled across the floor. Blackmore rose to his feet and strode towards Marco. Marco charged him again and the shadow raised its fist, preparing to create another shockwave.

But it never got the chance. A massive burst of flame exploded in its face, sending the beast reeling back. Hekapoo smirked as she rose shakily, still recovering from almost losing her soul.

Using the opening Hekapoo gave him, Marco entered into close quarters with Blackmore. The power of another soul collected in his hand, and Marco's fist shot forward like a bullet. Blackmore tried to move out of the way, but was too slow. Marco's hand heated up as it moved through the air at high speeds, and slammed into Blackmore's chest. Flesh and bone gave way as Marco buried his fist in the mage's chest. He found what he was looking, and grabbing hold, Marco tore his arm free. Blood spared forth from the wound, and Blackmore fell over backwards. His shadow collapsed along with him.

Blackmore stared at the man standing over him. He did not see the fourteen year old boy who defeated him, he saw Him. His lord, his God. Standing over him, clutching Blackmore's heart in His hand.

"You, truly are... Dracula." Blackmore said weakly, barely loud enough for Marco to hear. His eyes closed, and death took him. The massive shadow beast evaporated.

Marco felt a new soul enter his body, Blackmore's soul. He closed his hand into a fist, crushing the heart he had been holding. Hekapoo walked up to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder, though she quickly removed it upon realising he was covered in blood. Marco started at her touch, and turned to face her. His expression was hard to read, Marco had gotten very good at hiding his emotions over the past few years. He looked at her with concern on his face, but Hekapoo could see lingering hatred in his eyes.

"You okay?" He asked. She seemed fine, but having your soul screwed with couldn't be a pleasant experience.

"It'll take a lot more than that to kill me." Hekapoo said, "What about you?"

Marco was in bad shape. He was covered in bruises, several of his ribs were broken, as was his right leg, and he was pretty sure he had a concussion. Even with the aid of the regeneration spirit, he felt like he was about to collapse. But, he didn't want to worry her, so he planned to lie like he normally did about this sort of thing. Unfortunately for him, Hekapoo could usually tell when he was lying, and she could almost certainly see he was injured.

As Marco tried to think of something to say that she wouldn't immediately call bullshit on, a low hissing noise filled the room. It sounded like air slowly being let out of a balloon. They turned around to see one of the guests float down from the ceiling. Upon reaching the floor, his eyes turned back to normal as his soul returned to his body. More guests descended from the ceiling, returning to normal. Silenced reigned as everyone sat in stunned confusion, trying to determine if they were in fact alive right now. Eventually, someone spoke up.

Whatever they said went unheard, as, with the silence broken, literally everyone began talking at the same time. Shouting questions, and even threats at each other as they tried to figure out what had happened. Their attention soon turned to the pair standing at the front of the room, next to a corpse. Most of them recognised Hekapoo, and went quiet as they awaited some explanation. Hekapoo pinched the bridge of her nose and released an annoyed sigh.

Of course it would fall to her to clean this mess up. She just wanted to leave and get some rest. But a riot would probably break out if these people didn't get an answer soon, and considering that most of them were nobility, a war might even start.

"Okay, so you all kind of died for a little bit-" Hekapoo was cut off by the angry and panicked shouting from the guests. In retrospect, that probably wasn't the best way to start.

-000-

Eventually, they managed to calm everyone down, and give an abridged recount of what happened. Certain details were left out, such as Blackmore's name and background, but they explained that he attacked the ball, stole everyone's souls, and was killed by Hekapoo and Marco. Which lead to questions about who Marco was. Hekapoo only told them that he was a friend of hers and helped stop the attack.

As soon as things finally settled down, Hekapoo and Marco left through a portal. They were back in Hekapoo's house on Mewni. Hekapoo walked over to the couch and plopped down on it. Marco's old clothes were resting on the coffee table. He walked over to pick them up, but stopped just before touching them. He was still covered in blood.

"Hey, do you have a bathroom or something." Marco asked, "I need to clean up."

"First door on your right." Hekapoo answered.

"Thanks." Marco said. Wiping his hands off as best he could, he picked his clothes up off the table, trying to get as little blood on them as possible. He'd undoubtedly have to wash them when he got home, fortunately he'd gotten pretty good at getting blood stains out of his clothes.

"Hey." Hekapoo called out. Marco paused at the door and turned around to see what she wanted. Hekapoo looked off to the side, "Once you don't reek of blood, you wanna go somewhere to celebrate? I know some cool bars."

"Oh! Um, thanks for the offer, but I should probably head home. I've been gone for awhile." Marco said. He would have liked to hang out with Hekapoo some more, but he did need to go home. He didn't want to worry Star or his parents.

"Oh, thank god." Hekapoo said, slumping on her side, "I'm utterly exhausted."

"Then, why did you ask?" Marco said.

"Being polite." Hekapoo replied. She shifted on couch, getting comfortable.

"Did you hit your head during the fight?" Marco asked, only half joking.

"You did save my life. Just thought I should thank you." Hekapoo said with a shrug.

"You don't have to. I already owe you more than I could repay." Marco said. An awkward silence filled the room after that, neither of them thinking of anything else to say. Hekapoo rolled over to avoid meeting Marco's gaze.

"Imma take a nap." She said, changing the topic, "You have your scissors?"

"Right here." Marco answered, fishing them out of his pocket.

"Good, you can take yourself home then." Hekapoo said, still facing away from him. When she heard the door close behind him, she rolled back over.

Marco felt like he owed her, and she didn't like that. What did he even owe her for? Keeping his secret? This wasn't the first time she was part of a massive cover-up. It wasn't even the first time she kept a secret from the rest of the Commission. How many queens had they kept Dracula a secret from? Compared to reducing public knowledge of the Dark Lord to a mere story, not telling anyone about Marco was easy.

Was it because of how she acted around him? Hekapoo knew that Marco didn't take the news about his true nature well. It was understandable, being told you're basically the antichrist couldn't be easy for anyone. He was depressed for a long time after finding out. At first, his quest to get the scissors was the only the thing that kept him going. Hekapoo spent a lot of time around him then, comforting him and trying to get him back to normal.

Maybe he felt he owed her for that? Hekapoo hoped that wasn't the reason, he didn't deserve to feel indebted for that. The only reason she hung around him at first was because Arikado told her to. Hekapoo was ashamed to admit it, but after learning that he was Dracula's reincarnation, she was terrified of Marco at first. She was worried he would become Dracula, and the great battle against the night would continue forever. Now, the idea that Marco would ever become Dracula seemed ridiculous, and she felt guilty for thinking that he might. She felt guilty for a lot of things involving Marco.

Hekapoo stared at the ceiling and sighed. Dammit Marco, why do you have to be a good person? Things would've been so much simpler if you were someone like Graham.

-000-

The fabric of reality tore open and a portal formed in Star's bedroom. Marco stepped out it, and looked around. Star was lying spread eagle on her bed, and Pony Head was nowhere to be seen. Marco walked up to his friend.

"Hey Star." He said.

"Hello Marco." Star replied in a far off voice. She didn't turn to look at him, and instead stared straight up.

"Are... you okay?" Marco asked. He had never seen her with so little energy.

"Are any of us okay? Or are we all slowly dying, both inside and out. We distract ourselves from our troubles, and place such grand importance on petty little things. Even though we're just dust in the vast sea of infinity that is the universe." Star responded, in completely deadpan. Marco blinked at her.

"Is this about the Bounce Lounge? Is it actually closing?" He asked, genuinely concerned for his friend.

"I don't know. I didn't have any way of leaving this dimension. You took the scissors with you." Star answered.

"Oh, sorry." Marco said.

"I got over it. I had a lot of time to think while you were gone. I was all alone with my thoughts. I had nothing to do, nowhere to go, and no one to talk. Mostly because someone won't come out from under the bed!" Star said, sitting up and putting some actual emotion into the last sentence.

"I'm not coming out! It could be a trick!" Pony Head shouted from beneath the bed.

"Pony Head, Hekapoo left hours ago!" Star said, annoyed.

"I don't care! I'll stay under this bed all night if I have to. Remember girl, you didn't get those scissors from me!" Pony Head responded. Star flopped back down on the bed.

"I'm pretty sure I achieved enlightenment." Star said, going back to her emotionless tone.

"So, you're bored?" Marco asked.

"Deathly." Star replied. Marco let out a sigh.

"Stay right there, I'll make some nachos and find a movie for us to watch." He said. Star gave him a thumbs up, but otherwise didn't move.

Marco exited the room, and went down the stairs to the kitchen. He moved slowly. Partly because while his wounds had healed by now thanks to the regeneration soul, he was still very sore. But also because Marco was lost in his thoughts.

Blackmore knew about him, about what he really was. But how? He couldn't have figured it out just from Marco using the powers of the souls. Even Arikado didn't know for sure until the Castle recognised Marco's powers. All Blackmore should have been able to tell was that Marco had dark powers. Plenty of people possessed those. So how did he make the connection between Marco and Dracula?

Did someone tell him? No, that wasn't possible. The only people who knew Marco's secret were himself, Hekapoo, and Arikado. There had to have been something else. Blackmore was a member of Dracula's army, maybe he just more familiar with Dracula's power. If that was the case, then Marco had to be careful about using them, even more so than he already was. He didn't like using his powers, they served as a reminder of his true nature. Typically, Marco only used them in emergencies and when no one would see him use them. It was lucky that everyone was soulless during the fight. As a result, the only person who found out about his powers was Blackmore, and he was dead now.

'Because I killed him.' Marco thought, as he came to the other thing that was troubling him. He looked at his hand, and closed it into a fist.

When did killing become so easy? He took a life without even thinking twice about it, and that scared Marco. As much as he could try to justify it, saying that he killed Blackmore in self defense or that he needed to keep his powers a secret, Marco knew that wasn't the reason. He killed Blackmore because he wanted to. Marco saw him hurting someone he cared about, and he wanted him to die. He felt so much hatred, more than he thought was possible. He felt like he was losing himself to the darkness.

"Marco? Are you okay?" A worried voice asked. Marco's head shot up, and he saw his mom staring at him.

"I'm fine. Why?" Marco lied, his face completely neutral and he even managed to sound legitimately confused.

"You looked upset is all." Angie replied.

"Just thinking about some stuff. It's nothing important." Marco waved off her concern. He made a mental note to only have existential crises in private.

"Oh. Okay then." Angie said, somewhat nervously. Though he certainly made it sound like it was nothing, she wasn't entirely convinced. He looked pretty unhappy before he noticed her. But she couldn't think of anything for him to be upset about, nor any reason for him to lie to her. Also, it seemed unlikely for her son to be able to hide his emotions that easily. Angie walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Well, you can always talk to me and your father if you need to."

"Thanks mom." Marco said, giving his mother a hug. Internally, he gave a bitter laugh at the idea. He would keep this a secret till the day he died, especially from his parents. They didn't deserve to have Dracula as their son. Marco broke from the hug and walked into the kitchen.

Angie watched him as he left. There was something going on with him, even if she wasn't sure what. Angie just hoped that he'd tell her if it was important.


I'm planning on taking random bosses from Castlevania and using them as characters, both minor and major. I'm doing this because I'd quickly run out of Castlevania characters otherwise.

Marco used the following souls: The Final Guard's soul for the shield, as mentioned. The Giant Worm's for the regeneration. The Lightning Doll's for the lightning. The Kicker Skeleton's to change direction midair. And Balore's soul for the punch. Speaking of souls, I'm not entirely sure what Blackmore's soul should do yet.

Also, it's kind of odd that Hekapoo doesn't use her fire powers more in the show. But, since Blackmore is weak to fire, it just made sense to have her use them a lot here.

You may have noticed that Blackmore had some abilities here that he didn't in Order of Ecclesia. I gave him some new attacks to make the fight more interesting, and justified by saying that he grew stronger from stealing souls.

Originally, this chapter wasn't going to happen until later on, but I decided to do it sooner. Mostly because I wanted to have Hekapoo show up again.